Sample holder



Patented Oct. 7, 1924.,

UNITED STATES israele FRANCIS A. BRAXTAN,

oF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS..

SAMPLE HOLDER.

; Application mea May 31, 1923. serial No. e42,46o.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS A. BRAXTAN, a'citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, have invented. certain new and ruseful Improvements in Sample Holders, of which the following is ,a specification. j

lThe present improvements relate to de vices for holding specimens or samples of fabrics, such as silk, cotton, woolen goods, etc., usually put up for sale in rolls commonly called bolts. Its principal` objects are to provide means for holding such samples for ready accessibility in instances in which the prospective customerv desires a sample to take; along, and to eect important savings of cost, both in material and salesmens time, to the proprietor of the store where such goods are sold.

The most common practice,y when Aa prospective customer asks for a sample of such goods, isfvfor the salesman to cut oft' a small strip at the end of the piece, which stri may be from an inch to two inches wice and Vup to five or six inches long. The next person to purchase from that bolt of goods is entitled to full yardage, so that measurement is made from the place where the sample had been cut,.with the result that substantially'to the extent of the width of the goods the customer receives more goods than is paid for, with a consequent loss to the proprietor. The loss due to such cutting olf of samples is veryl great.

It has been proposed heretofore, to cut off a strip of material from the end of the piece Y board on which the material is wound. So-

and fold it up and deposit it between two flat covers hinged together in the form of al flat container of hard-pressed cardboard or composition board about the size of, an ordi-V Ilary pocket memorandum book, say four inches by six and one-half inches, .and to insert this folder containing the strip of sample material within the roll or bolt of goods, preferably adjacent to the central far as I know that simple form of device and method for preserving samples for reference and use is the only one heretoforev suggested. Various difficulties obtain with respect to such. a device, among which are` tween the two cover leaves and is constantly falling out during the handling, andthe remnant voften becomes displacedV after a part thereof iscut' off las a sample. A third objection is that the folder must beV withdrawn each timea sample is desired. vA'k fourth objection is. that these thin and flat book-likey containers, consisting merely ofy two thin andl hard cardboard sheetsface to facel and hinged with a strip of adhesive tape at the end, readily disappear within the body ofthe bolt of goods, whereupon a new sample is cut 0H and put in another container, and that one inserted, and'so on,

itv frequently happening that, when thebolt is entirely used up, as many` as a'half-.a dozen of these small sample books arefound to havebeeninserted. The small container mentioned has not proven satisfactory but has been extensively used. Y

Among the objects of the present improvements are to provide a device according to which such and other objections to prior practices are overcome.

In the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, Figure l is a medial. longitudinal section through my improved device and also through a fragment of a bolt o-f goods in connection with which thel device is shown in its normal po,- sition for use;I Fig. 2is what may be termed the top or upper face view of the device,

partly broken away; F ig. 3 is a perspective, with one of the cover members broken, showing how the specimen or sample is normally folded for use; and Figl is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line Llc-,l of

ally long so that a long sample may be foldj ed back and forth between them without -undue bunching of the material. These two cover members Vare hinged together at cor-r responding ends thereof, as by an outer piece of binding cloth 12 and an inner pieceof binding cloth 13, thus making a book-like structure, the sides lof which may readily swing apart. v

A metallic plate 14 is secured, as by a pair of integral clips l5, to one of the side mem- Vbers as l0, this plate lll having a Vslot-like opening 16 parallel with the hinge of the device, and the material of the sheet or cover member 1.0 is correspondingly slotted at 17 so that` the slots 16 and 17 register with each other and form an opening through which a sample as 20 may extend. The metallic plate li carries a stop 18 which is shown in the form of a hook or spring clip adapted to en` the board 19 upon which the material 21 is wound. rlhis stop 18 limits the movement of the device into the bolt and overcomes one of the objections mentioned. lvl/'hen formed as a spring clip it also acts to retain the device against displacementV when the bolt is carried or thrown about, and it also assists in holding the structure when the sample is being withdrawn. The cover member 11 has an opening 30 accommodating the stop 18 in the relative movements of the cover members.

To facilitate the withdrawal of the sam ple and to provide against its bunching at the opening 16-17 I preferably add a guide member which is shown in the form of a bail 23 having a roller crosspiece 2li, this roller being shown as a tubev held by the tuiaied-inward ends of the side arms of the bail. The bail is pivoted for swinging mcvements by means of two pieces of tape 25, 25, as well Shown in Figs. 3 and l.

ln practice when a new piece of goods comes upon the floor the rst step is to cut olf from the end thereof a strip of material the full width of the piece to be used as a sample from time to time. This sample strip is applied to the present device by first opening the leaves or cover members 10 and 11 substantiallj7 as shown in Fig. 3,1noving the bail 23 out of the position shown, as by swinging it against the cover member 11, thus leaving the inner surface of the cover member 10 free. The next step is to thread the end of the sample 20 through the opening 16-17 and thereupon lay the lirst stretch of the sample straight out lengthwise upon the member 10. The next step is to swing the bail 23 back into the position shown in Fig 3, the roller 24 thereupon lying on top of a section of the sample. r1Ehe sample is nent folded back and forth, the lirst fold being adjacent to the roller 2e, as well illustrated, and this folding back and fort-h continues until the specimen is laid out in that imanner, one fold upon another, but leaving its inner free end projecting'slightly beyond or at least being about flush with the inner or open endv of the device. The cover member 11 is then laid over or superposed upon the cover member 10 and the sample ist-hns l ered by the device, which constitutes a tantially flat container for it.

lt vvill be noted from Figs. 2 and 3 Vthat one of the cover members, as 11, l provide a strip 27 of what may-be considered sandpaper or as having been formed by drawing a brush with glue across the device there and then sprinkling sand upon it, which element 27 constitutes means for holding the free end of the sample releasably. `When the cover members are folded together and the device is positioned as shown in Fig. 1 the pressure of the goods forces this rough or abrasive surface 27 into such Contact with the sample as to hold the 'nier end thereof against movement until direct pulling strains are had upon it, such direct pulling strains being sulficient to cause the sample to slip and come away from the holding surface 27.

Having thus folded the strip within the container the device Ais inserted adjacent to the board 19 as shown in Fig. 1, with the outer end of the sample 2O projecting beyond the material of the bolt and thus being available for pulling strains upon it. Now when the prospective `customer desires a sample it is only necessary for the salesman to withdraw a few inches of the sample and cut it olf, .vithout removing the device7 and to continue doing so from time to time until the particular specimen is used up, when another strip is cut off of the end of the piece and similarly positioned in the container.

l contemplate as being included in this invention such modifications of and departures from what is herein specifically shown and described as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

1. ln a sample holder of the character described, the combination of a pair of substantially fiat cover .members hinged together at corresponding end portions thereof so as to fold one upon the other and forming a container for a strip-like sample, said container having a clip thereon adjacent to the hinge adapted to limit the movement of said container into a bolt of goods and to hold the container upon the board upon which the goods are wound, said container having an opening adjacent to the hinged end portion thereof through which such sample may 'be drawn, anda crossmember normally between the cover members partially around which the sample may be folded.

2. ln a sample holder of the character described, the combination of a pair of substantially fiat cover members hinged together at the corresponding end portions thereof so as to fold one upon the other and forming a container for a strip-like sample,

said container having an opening adjacent to the hinged end portion thereof through which such sample may be drawn, and means including a swinging bail within the container for controlling the movement of such strip-like sample when drawn upon from Without the container whereby all successive portions of such strip-like sample Within the container and extending from said opening to the end of the sample are successively drawn in lines of movement leading to the said opening.

3. In a sample holder of the character described, the combination of a pair of substantially Hat cover members hinged together so as to fold one upon the other and forming a container for a strip-like sample, said container having a stop thereon adjacent to the hinge adapted to limit the movement of said container into a bolt of goods,

said container having an opening adjacent to the hinged end portion thereof through Which lsuch sample may be drawn, vand a swinging bail betweenthe cover members and hinged nearv the hinge of the cover members, said bail having a cross piece partially around which such sample may be folded, to guide such strip in its movement toward said opening When drawn upon from Without the container, and means for releasably holding 'the end of such strip While intermediate portions thereof are being withdrawn from the container.

FRANCIS A. BRAXTAN. 

